The Savage Kingmakers, #5

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Introduction
The Savage is the fifth in the Kingmakers series and I absolutely was terrified of this book, I know that this one has been a really difficult one for so many there. And now that I have read it, I can definitely see why this one is such a difficult read and honestly it was definitely a change. Now in the first half I was really hopeful, then you get to the second half and it goes downhill and it happens fast and gets kinda bonkers if I am being honest, but am I surprised? Not really. Some of Lark's heroines go bananas haha I think its just how she tends to write them sometimes. And I knew this heroine would be a battle to even like. But its not a horrible book or anything and I feel like it connects dots on certain serial ties that was so fascinating. But if you are a fan of Sophie Lark and how she writes her heroines, than I do think this one is worth picking up.

Summary
Sabrina Gallo is a woman that is full of mystery and always on the hunt. She is never satisfied with life and shifts from one man after another and never being content. She has a restless energy that she is never able to satisfy long term. Her girlfriend has ended their relationship and even though it has hurt Sabrina she easily moves on from the hurt. Then we have Adrik Petrov, who is his own man and working on cultivating his own empire but ever since he met Sabrina, he has been intrigued and he wants to have her no matter what. He and Sabrina go on a journey together to build their empire with their wolf pack and its not as easy as either of them though. Both had certain expectations moving forward and they don't always mesh, but when passions rise between them, they could burn down the country of Russia if they aren't careful...

My Outlook
This story honestly has left me so speechless and I truly don't even know what to say about this one here. I wanted to really love this one, and I did keep a complete open mind on this one but sigh I just couldn't with this heroine. I really tried to like her, but she was such a challenge on that front. There is a certain type of heroine that Lark sometimes write and its not my type of heroine I enjoy because she can write these self destructive heroines that are so difficult to relate to or connect to on ANY level. At first I was hopeful but I did feel like Sabrina was a bit naive on how alpha mafia males work, has she not been paying attention at Kingmakers or even her own family? I was not shocked by Adrik's behavior at all, its very A typical of a mafia man. I understand why she was upset, but the road that we see her go down, was not necessary if she would have stopped acting like a spoiled child. Yep I said it lol she really acts so spoiled and that nothing bad can happen to her as long as he gets her own way. She eventually learns her lesson, but it takes a very dangerous path and puts all the people she loves in danger, and seeing how self destructive she becomes is very difficult. It's so hard to witness, that I almost DNF'd the book because of it or really just wanted to skip until the end of the story.

However this book isn't all bad and there were aspects of the story that I truly enjoyed at times. I really liked how well these two accept each other and create their own unique dynamic especially physically. Its definitely not conventional and there are FFM and FF scenes, so keep that in mind and it might now work for everyone. I appreciate what Sophie Lark was working towards with this story and why she wrote it, BUT, it was a hard one to read.

Overall View
I found The Savage while a struggle at times, had many redeeming qualities to the story and became so endeared by Adrik and Sabrina's connection that was unique and bold! .

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 4
World Building:4.25
Cover:5
Hero: 4
Heroine: 2.5
Steam: 4
Heart & Feels: 3.5
Ending:3.5
Overall View: 3

wow what a letdown. i was so excited to read sabrina and adrik’s book and it was fun in the beginning and then it just started to decline for me. it got real old and boring fast and by the end i was just skim reading. as much as i disliked the bully, i think i actually prefer that over this

“There is nothing you could do to make me stop loving you.” • I absolutely love the push and pull of Sabrina and Adrik. Their volatility and passion make for such a great story. There’s never a dull moment. • read if you like: ♡ mafia romance ♡ multiple POVs ♡ lots of on-page spice (FF, FM, FFM) ♡ motorcycles ♡ bad girls / bad boys ♡ halo / video games / arcades ♡ lgbtq+ rep ♡ Tarantino vibes ♡ carving your own path ♡ found family ♡ entrepreneurial spirit ♡ emotionally unavailable mc ♡ power struggles ♡ anti-heros ♡ alpha male / alpha female trigger warnings: ☞ violence

Sabrina is probably my favourite character ever

SABRINA MY BISEXUAL ICON✨

Stars: 5 Spice: 4 Sophie, you really outdid yourself with this one. Like so many others, I was practically salivating over the chance to read Sabrina and Adrik’s story. They are such a unique, fun, intense and HOT pair. Although this is billed as part of the Kingmakers series, very little of the story actually takes place there. I had no problem with this though. Adrik convinces Sabrina to follow him back to Moscow to partner with him in his dream to take over the city. They have to learn how to run a new criminal enterprise as well as learn how to be together in the real world. There was definitely a TON of conflict! However, in the end, their love for each other is so natural and they make so much sense to me as a couple. Their lack of jealousy honestly was such a breath of fresh air to read! Sabrina is so fiery and is not afraid to chase her dreams. It was so nice to see Adrik be so supportive of her. Although there were definitely times I wanted to throat punch both of them :D I’m so sad to say goodbye to these characters (again) but it’s been such a wonderful ride! Thank you Sophie for writing some of my most loved characters.

Like I have said multiple times, I love with all my heart everything that Sophie Lark writes. There were parts where I felt super connected to Sabrina and the things she did (or why she did it). Sometimes I feel like I'm the Sabrina of my family, I'm independent, headstrong, and mindset in getting things, no matter what I have to do to get them done so the only but I can put to this book is the ending. Sabrina didn't need to apologize to Adrik, i'd had liked more for Adrik to leave his pride aside and apologize for lying and misleading Sabrina just to get her to come with him to Russia. I get why he did it but I need him to say sorry. Besides that, I really liked the book

Speechless ________________________________________________ I quite literally experienced every single emotion while reading this book. When I say EVERY , I mean every.single.one. This picks up with our baddie Sabrina coming home from Kingmakers after Adrik said he’d wait for her for 8 months & wait he did. Their first date was literally a goddamn movie if I’d ever seen one. Within the first 10 chapters I knew this was going to blow my mind. They’re like fire & fire which can only be explosive but also so beautiful to watch how they fit together. While some people might find the relationship “toxic” I think that’s a difference of opinion. Their relationship is about two alphas merging their lives together while building an empire of course it’s going to be a hell of a ride. Sabrina is the definition of a Savage, she’s beautiful, smart, funny & strong. Her only real flaw is her temper and not knowing how to truly be vulnerable (me). Adrik is a hunter, he sees what he wants and he goes and gets it. He’s also very much the definition of an alpha male who doesn’t follow anyones rules but his own. To watch these two fight through their differences & balance each out while screwing each other’s brains out?! BITCH ! I think this is the spiciest books Sophie has written and those FFM & FF scenes?!?! It’s like never knowing you needed water to survive and then once you get it you can’t live without it. Yeah I’m gonna need a FF or FFM scene or just a FF book Sophie please! This was so action packed, fast paced, smutty, entertaining & everything I needed it to be. Also can the wolf pack get a spin off? 👀I’m trying to keep this as vague yet descriptive as possible because I’m not one for spoilers and this truly was an experience on its own that you need to go through for yourself. The only thing I would change is a bit of the ending, I wanted a little more groveling from Adrik. I felt like we saw more of Sabrina’s growth than his in that moment & he was the one who fucked up other than that I’m very pleased & obsessed with this story & I can’t believe my kingmakers journey is over. Sophie you continue to amaze me and I’m so obsessed with you and your brain it’s not even funny. Thank you for creating Sabrina she’s my Aida<3

4.5/5 Stars - 3.75-4/5 Spice Pacing for this book is legit from 0 to 60 and it doesn't slow down. Sabrina and Adrik were fucking electric from the moment they were introduced back in the previous Kingmakers books - you could feel their chemistry right from the beginning. The spice these 2 had from the moment the book started was incredible. Sabrina and Adrik both radiate BDE energy and of course when they come together it's going to be fireworks. Sabrina our brilliant, slightly unhinged, bisexual queen!! My favorite scene is when she's giving him a lap dance - AHHH! Sabrina - An incredibly bad ass sexy bitch. Sabrina is in us all. She was a true mob boss in this one and it was phenomenal seeing her build her empire alongside Adrik. While the other FMC (aside form Sloane) that came before her were in the "life" somehow no one came close to being a TRUE BOSS. Sabrina used her beauty to her advantage. She WANTED people to underestimate her so she can prove them wrong that she is indeed a criminal mastermind. Adrik - The love of my life. The confidence this man radiated was so attractive. We all love the jealous possessive type of men in romance books but it was so refreshing to see a man like Adrik. Adrik had the confidence in himself and the trust with Sabrina where she could legit do what she wanted. He struggled at times from letting her free vs caging her in cause of his fear of her getting hurt. I loved how he went to Ivan for advice on how to better basically for Sabrina. I've said this before but it's worth mentioning again that when Sophie writes her books I feel like she is giving words of wisdom to us all whether that be from a relationship standpoint or building your own self confidence. Her books while they're fantastic stories with even better spice - there is so much MORE inside these books if you genuinely read between the lines. 💜ARC💜